I AM INTERN

Here at Intern Queen Inc & InternQueen.com we get tons of testimonials from students, parents, career centers, and employers who are happy with their services for one reason or another. However, upon reading this note from ROAR, I simply had to share it with you. I’ve removed Christopher’s last name for privacy purposes but I really do congratulate him on making a wonderful impression at a great Management Company.

Intern Queen,

It was a great pleasure to have Christopher as my intern here at ROAR.  ROAR specializes in talent and brand management, and advisory service for the entertainment industry.  It also has a well regarded literature department, to which Christopher’s background was a perfect fit.  As a graduate of Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Screen and Television Writing, Christopher displayed the knowledge that was expected of him the moment he came to intern.

After the first few weeks, I recognized Christopher’s commitment to proving himself as a valuable member to not just the literature department, but the entire ROAR team.  Since coming in May, Christopher has been fully engrossed with the day to day workings of the literary department, along with taking the time to help other departments that have been short handed.  While at ROAR he has mastered a wide skill set, ranging from administrative duties to script and story analysis and has done all these task with a positive attitude.

I appreciated the work Christopher gave and continues to give at ROAR and I truly am grateful to the people at InternQueen who provided me with such an excellent partner to work alongside.  InternQueen is a wonderful service that I will use again, and I will most definitely be helping Christopher in his promising career.

-Internship Coordinator, ROAR

To see the Intern Queen on California’s KTLA, click here.

As the Intern Queen, you could say that I’m addicted to internships. Or that when I was in college, I was addicted to internships. You might be an Intern-A-Holic if…..

1. You are currently a summer intern and spend most of your time looking for fall internships.

2. You’re only a freshman or sophmore and you’ve already participated in an internship or two or three….

3. You are constantly looking up places to work & people you admire.

4. You tweet everyday and are very aware of your favorite employers & career/internship experts on Twitter.

5. You NEED to know that you have the coolest internships out of all of your friends.

6. You’ve already had bad experiences with the printer, copy machine, and coffee machine.

7. You’ve started blogging about your internship experiences.

8. You’ve already thought about where you want to intern Summer 2011…and maybe Summer 2012.

9. You aren’t supposed to work on the weekends but can’t help checking your intern email account and doing research for Monday.

10. You spend more than anyone you know thinking about internships, social networking, and your future.

What else ?

After spending the majority of my evening last night on the gorgeous rooftop of Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach for the Girls in Tech Los Angeles Summer Event (http://www.girlsintech.net), I had to write a blog on networking events. Personally, I’ve enjoyed  my time on the executive board for GITLA because let’s face it – everyone is in tech. Everyone uses technology in their day to day in some way or another. Tech spans from entertainment to web development to fashion, all fields that interest me. If you’ve stumbled across my blog, you are probably interestesd in the tech field in some way and I suggest you check out your local Girls in Tech chapter at http://www.girlsintech.net.

My advice for networking events is two fold depending on if you are an intern or a recent graduate/entry-level employee.

I suggest that interns get involved with everything they can on a trial basis. As an intern, constantly ask people about the networking groups they are involved with. When you have the opportunity to chat with executives and professionals at your company, ask them what networking groups they belong to. Also, ask them if you might be able to attend one of that organization’s events and who you should contact to try it out. In another city for the summer? This is the perfect time for you to check out new networking groups and see which are a fit.

Before you go, ask yourself the following:

1. What is my objective? What to I want to get out of this event?

2. What types of people do I want to meet and what do I want to make sure they know about me?

For entry-level employees & those who have been around networking events in the past, it’s time to be a little more selective. You will learn after time that it’s actually not that much fun to go to a different networking event every night and it actually costs lots of money and can prevent you from getting other work done. I encourage you to write out all of the groups that you currently have relationships with. Then take a moment and ask yourself, “what’s missing?” What are you NOT getting out of these groups, pretend you are an intern again, go back and experiment with new groups and find what you are looking for.

Remember, don’t be a part of a group because your friends are. Do this for yourself. Make sure that you see value in your time commitment. Decide which group is most important to you and become very involved and active – even seek out executive board positions. It’s the people who want to be involved in everything and who cannot say no that seem to have the most problems with networking events. Be selective. Come prepared. Take something away.

As a young entrepreneur & business owner, one of the most important ideas is that of time management. How will I spend my time? How will I divide up my day? I’m always curious to hear how successful people run their days and spend their time. I want to share a personal story about how I’ve been able to get more things done, be more proactive & productive, and hold myself accountable to complete tasks on a weekly basis. Ironically, this all stemmed from networking.

You never know when you might meet someone that will have a heavy impact on your life (one of the many reasons I believe internships are so powerful). In 2007, at a Women in Business awards ceremony, I met Morgan First, co-founder of The Second Glass (http://www.thesecondglass.com). In 2008, I met Elizabeth Saunders, co-founder of Real Life E (http://www.reallifee.com) at an Extreme Entrepreneur Tour Event.

Upon meeting Elizabeth I learned that she also knew Morgan. The three of us decided that we all had one thing in common – we all wanted to be successful entrepreneurs. We decided in November of 2008 that we would do a weekly conference call in attempts to hold one another accountable for completing tasks and achieving goals. Our businesses are in completely different industries but our constant need to focus on revenue, stay on task, and balance our personal and professional lives is the same.

Last month, I saw Elizabeth in person for the second time. It had been almost two years since our first meeting. Today, we dialed-in and spoke. We’ve all been speaking every week for almost two years. We’ve been able to hold ourselves accountable and help one another.

If you are a student, entrepreneur, or employee – I encourage you to seek out people with the same long-term goals. Start a conversation – you never know how far it will go.

Cover letters can be your best friend or your worst enemy. After reviewing several internships on the site, http://www.internqueen.com, you will notice that a good percentage of the employers on the site DO request cover letters from student. Here are some common mistakes that I will remind you NOT to do when you submit your cover letters for your dream internships:

1. DO NOT send the same cover letter to each company. Employers can easily tell a generic letter from a customized letter. Take the time to customize your cover letters for the specific internships you are applying for.

2. DO NOT forget to include information about the company you are applying for. Your cover letter should illustrate that you have knowledge of the employer, incorporate some of their buzz words from their mission statement and company goals. Show that you are familiar with the company and that you have put time into your application.

3. DO NOT write the wrong name on the letter. Please do not send a cover letter that is addressed to “Warner Music Group” to the people at “Seventeen Magazine”. Watch what you send out. That is a quick way to let an employer know that you are sending out generic cover letters in bulk.

4. DO NOT explain your family “trauma” in your cover letter. You want to explain who you are, what position you are interested in, and what personal & professional characteristics make you the perfect candidate for the job.

If you are interested in getting a “Cover Letter Makeover” service that Intern Queen Inc. provides, please contact us through the website at http://www.internqueen.com.

I did a segment on KTLA yesterday (which I will post shortly) where I discussed some tips on how to really make the most of your summer internship. Here are a few tips I covered:

• Keep your cell phone on SILENT or just leave it in the car. You should not be checking your phone unless you are on your lunch break or you are using it for internship-related purposes. No texting or phone calls or checking apps.

• Stay off of Facebook on work computers. As soon as you are caught on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn your boss knows that you have “better” things to do.

• Don’t Tweet or update your Facebook status about your internship during the actual work day (unless this is part of the employer’s social media strategy). Your boss will most likely find you on these sites eventually and they shouldn’t see you documenting your feelings about the day.

• Don’t “friend” your boss or internship coordinator on Facebook unless they initiate the interaction. This can make many employers feel uncomfortable.

A potential intern candidate, @EmilyJaneJ, on Twitter has a big interview coming up for a PR & Marketing position in New York City. She asked me about wearing a Pink/Red-ish color on her nails for her big interview. I’m asked about this type of thing quite frequently from young women. So let’s get my “Nail Advice” listed once and for all.

Nail Polish Pointers

1. All nails should be the same color. No rotating different color on different nail – even for holidays.

2. French Manicure is a win-win situation and probably your best bet.

3. You don’t have to get your nails professionally done but make sure that if you are doing your own nails they look clean, even, and neat.

4. I hope I don’t have to say this but dirt under fingernails is not acceptable.

5. Pretending you are LL and writing “FU” or anything else on nails is also unacceptable.

6. If you have fake nails/acrylics that’s fine but make sure they aren’t long and/or fang-like.

7. I would avoid blues, greens, and neon-shades.

8. Regular pinks, reds, and any neutral shades should be fine.

9. Just remember, your nails shouldn’t SCREAM anything or really draw attention to themselves. However, if an employer does look at your nails – they should feel that they look clean & professional & like you are taking the opportunity seriously.

10. Since we are talking about nails, also keep the rings to a minimum. One chunky ring is fine, but try not to be to “over the top” and avoid the “ring on every finger” look.

For more advice, follow me on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/internqueen and remember to stay on http://www.internqueen.com for all of your internship needs And as always, let us know your thoughts.

We all need to get pumped up every once in a while. And so I introduce the concept of, an internship soundtrack. This is a mix of songs that you listen to while you’re getting ready in the morning for your internship and on your way to the internship (via car CD Player or IPod). These are songs that get you excited, focused, and ready to make the most of your time at your internship.

If you are an intern, I’d love to get your input on what songs would be on your Internship Soundtrack. Here are a few that come to my mind:

Just Dance (Lady Gaga)
Don’t Stop Believin’ (The Glee Version, of course)
Your Love is My Drug (Kesha)
Party in the USA (Miley Cyrus)
California Gurls (Katie Perry)
We Got More Bounce in California (Soul Kid #1)
Working 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton from orginial musical soundtrack of 9 to 5)

Come on, add some! What are your thoughts??

Lauren Berger, The Intern Queen was featured on Career Rookie on how to avoid sticky situations at your summer internship. To read more, click here.